UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



MISCELLANEOUS CIRCULAR NO. 31 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 



JANUARY, 1925 



LET'S KNOW SOME TREES 

 Brief Descriptions of the Principal California Trees 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Foreword n 



The Pines 1 



Firs, Cedars, and Sequoias 4 



Other California Cone Bearers 6 



The Oaks 7 



The Willows 10 



The Poplars 10 



The Maples 11 



The Alders and a Birch 11 



Page 



The Desert Palm 12 



The Madrona 13 



The California Walnut 13 



The California Sycamore 14 



The Ash 14 



The California Laurel 14 



The Buckeye 15 



Index of common and scientific 



names 15 



THE PINES 



First of the cone-bearers, we name 

 the tree John Muir so loved — the 

 Sugar Pine, finest of all the pines in 

 the world. It often grows to be 200 

 feet high, with a trunk from 4 to 8 

 feet through. The bark is reddish 

 brown in color; the leaves (needles) 

 are dark green, five in a bundle, and 

 about Sy 2 inches long. The beautiful 

 cones are from 12 to 20 inches long, 

 clear light brown when dry, and hang 

 in bunches from the tips of the 

 branches. Sugar Pine is found from 

 southern Oregon to Lower California. 

 In the Sierra Nevada Mountains of 

 California it reaches its best develop- 

 ment from 5,000 to 6,000 feet above 

 the sea. 



The Western Yellow Pine is found 

 in all the States west of the Great 

 Plains, and also in British Columbia 

 and northern Mexico. In the Sierras 

 it grows often with the Sugar Pine, 

 from which it is easily distinguished 

 by its longer needles (4 to 11 inches) 

 occurring in bunches of three. The 

 cones are only 3 or 4 inches long as a 

 rule, reddish-brown when dry, and set 

 in a mass of needles at the ends of 

 the branches. The bark on old trees 

 forms large, irregular, yellowish 

 plates. 



A species closely related to the 

 Western Yellow Pine is called Jeffrey 

 Pine. It is a somewhat smaller tree, 

 although its cones are much larger. 

 Its reddish, occasionally almost black 

 bark, is broken into narrow plates. 

 The needles occur, like those of the 

 Western Yellow Pine, in bunches of 

 three. Although occasionally found by 

 itself — in what is called a " pure 

 stand " — it is usually associated with 

 the Western Yellow Pine and the firs. 



The Coulter Pine (fig. 1), often 

 called the Bigcone, is common in the 

 mountains of southern and Lower 

 California. Its leaves (needles) are 

 also three in a cluster and average 

 9 inches in length, but are stiffer and 

 heavier than those of the Western 

 Yellow Pine, as are also the branches 

 and twigs. But the great distinguish- 

 ing feature is the cone, which is 9 to 

 14 inches long, very thick and heavy, 

 and armed with sharp hooks. 



The Digger Pine is found in the 

 dry, hot foothills. The bark is a dull 

 gray-brown, and the leaves, in sets 

 of three, are 8 to 12 inches long, 

 gray-green in color, and sparse. You 

 can fairly see through a Digger Pine, 

 while a Western Yellow Pine almost 

 obstructs the view. The cones of the 

 Digger Pine lie close against the 

 trunk or larger branches and often 



